


Good Good Neighbors

by GhastlyGhost



Series: Good Good neighbors (series) [2]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, I will keep from tagging canon characters until they become bigger parts of the plot, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, archive warnings will be update as well, or until they just show up more
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-29
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-20 13:53:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9494384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhastlyGhost/pseuds/GhastlyGhost
Summary: This is a verse where the sole survivor is a sibling to Shaun instead of a parent. It's just the regular plot with alterations in the factions endings and the allies one can gain.I am no good at summaries, and will likely update this as the story goes, if it gets updated at all.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I tend to update in chunks and then stop for a long time, after which I might check back and alter posted chapters. This is the first time trying a multi chaptered work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: Tried to fix some issues, and altered parts of the story.

“At least we still have the backup.” - Kellogg

Cold. There was a stinging cold that clung to the skin, all over bare hands and face, frozen solid and frozen in shock. There was a hissing sound as the latches on the cryopod door let go, releasing the young woman that was trapped within. Justin fell out, immediately doubling over onto the ground, gasping and shivering. Her vision was blurred and everything hurt. There was precious little time to linger, however, as she still recalled what had happened. How could she not? For her perception, it had only happened a minute ago. She quickly scrambled onto her feet with wide eyes. 

Her mother was trapped in the pod just in front of her, the frosted form visible through the glass. Without thinking, Justin threw herself at the door and started prying at the seams. Had she been less frantic, she would have known full and well that this would not work. It took her several minutes of whimpering and clawing with still sore hands to figure this out. Finally, her eyes fell on the lever next to the pod and she slammed her hand down on it and yanked it up.

Anxiously, she waited for the pod to open, and even before it was fully raised, she jumped to her mother, ducking as she approached. No response. Unlike her, her mother was not opening her eyes. She lay still, even when touched. Justin could have known from the scene that had unfolded before this, and the bullet wound in her mother's chest, but she still hoped somewhere that it wasn't true.

Justin tried shaking her mother, softly uttering to her, “Mom?”  
When that didn't work, she tried again, harder this time, before tears started welling up in her eyes.

No. This couldn’t be. Maybe she was just still in an induced coma. Maybe she…

With a shaky hand, Justin slid a hand down to her mother’s lower arm and put her fingers to her wrist to feel her pulse. Nothing.

With all the color having washed from her face and tears falling down her cheeks, she closed the pod again. Her heart had already sunk to the very depths, and still, she didn’t want to trust her findings. Maybe she checked wrong.  
She waited for the door to be fully sealed before turning to search for the terminal she had seen when she’d first entered the vault. With careful steps, she approached, the dread in her growing, knowing that whatever was on there would only confirm what she feared. It wasn't locked. All she had to do, was select her mother’s name and see what it told her. 

Occupant status: Deceased.

Just like everyone else.

Justin’s eyes were locked on the screen in horror. Her mother was one thing, but now... So many people. This had to be a nightmare. There was no way for this to be real. All she wanted to do was be pulled into the ground, to just be gone from this reality, but she knew she couldn’t stand on idle for too long. Her brother was alive. She didn’t know how far these people had taken him, by now, but he had to be alive. They could come back to the vault, together, after this was over. She had some slim hope that, maybe, her mom was still well enough preserved to save, if she just left the pod closed, and maybe found help. 

She took a deep breath, and pushed herself away from the terminal. It was time to go. She left the room, staying quiet as she did so, fearing that someone would still be present and ready to kill her as well.

As she looked around the vault, all she found was messed shelves and a skeleton. This was bad. There was no flesh or anything on these bones, and she knew that bones this clean meant they had been left here for months, maybe years. There was a side room with a terminal.  
A stimpak was left next to it. Just in case, she took it before scanning through the files on the terminal, to see if it had any hints to what happened. If there was anything to help her know who took her brother. She didn’t know if these corpses were left when he was taken or if the vault staff had died before then. She wasn’t a forensics expert, and was not about to examine the remains for causes of death either. 

All she found was that they’d been lied to, but she already knew that when the supposed contamination pods froze her instead. The second to last entry at least had info on how to get out. 

It didn’t seem too hard, if everyone was gone, but there was a light skittering around the vault once she'd left the room. A small baton lay on a table just under some glass. Her eyes locked onto the thing up ahead as she picked it up, lowering herself to the ground and narrowing her eyes to see better. A roach? Was that a roach?

Whatever it was, she didn’t want anything to do with it. She hesitated, but eventually ran to it and smashed in the carapace with a soft squeal. It squeaked when it died and its blood stuck to the baton when she got up. After standing, she kept staring at it for a second. 

Did they come in from the surface? There was another terminal up ahead, and she examined it. Just recreational. She was wasting time with this one.

After having taken out the bugs in the reactor room, she got to the Overseer’s chamber. Another body lay on the ground. She gathered what was left of use in this area: more stimpaks, a gun with ammo, and a pack of cigarettes. They used those as currency in jail. Maybe the end of the world was something like that. 

Now it came time to open the door. She was too concerned with getting this vault open to care what the overseer’s tasks were, and she immediately chose the option to open the door to the vault exit room. 

Not thinking, she almost sprinted into the next hallway, only to come to a halt the moment she saw another roach. Normal roaches were never so bad, but these hurt. These were actually dangerous. She backed away, careful not to make a sound, and then slid down with her back against the wall, holding the gun she’d found close to her chest.

Just take aim and shoot. Your mama taught you how to do at least that. These things aren’t moving right now. 

She turned her head around the corner, just peeking from the periphery of one eye. She raised her arm and turned the rest of her body, still staying crouched, stretched her arms, with one hand on the handle and the other under for support and better aim. 

The roach scurried some and she followed with her weapon. A nervous sweat formed on her forehead while she waited. If she did this slow with any more of these things, she did not think she would live for very long.  
Knockback on this gun was stronger than expected. She’d had her arms not quite as steady as needed, and, while she hit the roach, her hand was thrown back enough to almost hit her face.

There were more roaches up ahead. As scared as she was to face more of those, she had to do it. There were only two. She assured herself that she could take those. She was trained to defend herself if needed, and it was definitely needed, now.

It was hard to shoot that far. Her arms were shaking, and her glasses had gotten covered in ice during the stasis. With a sigh, she put the gun down, and wiped her glasses before trying again. Much better.

She hit the first roach, then waited for the second. One shot, and she missed. The roach jumped from the wall, and she quickly realised there were more than she thought. Another jumped down, and a fifth came scurrying from around the corner. 

Justin hit the larger roach with her gun hand as it jumped at her face, causing it to fall to the ground on its back. When one of the smaller to ran at her feet, she raised her foot and stomped down with all her strength. The goo from inside the creature splattered over the floor accompanied by a nasty crunch. The larger one had gotten up and jumped her again, when she was just about to kick the second of the smaller roaches. 

It threw her off enough to kick just soft enough to not kill the creature, and she shook around to get the big one off. Once it dropped back to the ground, she smashed her gun down onto it and shot it once it was evident it was still alive. The small roach had come back, but she was ready. She swatted it, the walked over to where it landed and stepped on it. 

Her breathing was shallow and quick as she looked around with her gun raised, in anticipation for more, but none other came. 

Well, not until she turned the corner and opened the door into the vault door area. It was turned away, and she shot as soon as she saw it. 

Justin didn’t give herself time to be shocked about the mess in this room. She’d used just four bullets, but she needed more ammo, and she needed to get out. As she approached the skeleton with the pip boy, another roach popped up, and she swung her foot with such force that she hurt herself smashing the creature against the metal behind it. It was injured, but not dead. Slowed down enough for her to shoot it. Five bullets were wasted now, in total.

As gruesome as picking at bones was, she took the pip boy, albeit with a sour look upon her face, and examined it. There was a plug that fit the port in the door’s control panel, and she made the connection. Once she hit the button on the panel, the sequence started. 

It was a slow process, so she started looking around the room for more ammo as she waited for the door to fully open. There wasn't much, but it would have to do. It was not like she could fit much inside the restrictive suit the vault personnel had given her anyway.

She swallowed as she stepped closer to the elevator. If the war had changed roaches the way she'd just seen, then there was no telling what else would be out there.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The young sole survivor made it to the surface to find a ravaged Sanctuary and is reunited with a member of her family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Codsworth will never be my specialty.

“Vault door cycling sequence initiated. Please, stand back.” - Vault Computer

Justin’s eyes stung as she rose to the surface. The sun’s rays were far brighter than the light she had to endure down in the vault, and all she could do to reduce the pain was shield her eyes with a hand squint. It took a moment for her sight to adjust to the new conditions, but when they did, what was out here was no comfort to Justin.

Once her gaze was set upon what was left of her home, her heart sank yet again. Her legs sprung into action almost immediately and she ran for the gate that she’d been sent through on the way to this place. This was no vault anymore. It was just a high tech mass grave. When she crossed the bridge, she started screaming for her brother. Her voice cracked as she called out his name. No child could have survived being out here, but maybe, by some miracle, Shaun did. Her face was running red and distorted in fear and grief.

There wasn't much time for losing her grip just yet, however. A gasp escaped her and she shut up the moment she saw a figure up ahead. She quickly hid behind the wall of one of her neighbor’s houses. When she glanced back, she noticed that there seemed to be a Mister Handy unit next to this stranger. No telling what they would have done to the machines. They probably used them as weapons, now.

She pressed her eyes shut and tried to not sniffle, knowing that the strangers were already headed in her direction due to her screams. Stupid, she was. She felt like she’d just gotten herself killed in the first few minutes of being awake up here. 

There was nowhere else she could go anymore. She didn’t know where to go. She would fight though. The moment the stranger turned the corner, she readied her gun, aiming right for the face, and the person quickly stepped aside with hands raised. 

“Oh no,” they simply uttered as they stepped back, after which the Mister Handy zoomed around the corner, and a loud gasping noise left the machine.

“Lady Justin,” it cried out. “It’s… It’s really you!”

Justin’s brows dropped and she could feel herself starting to tear up again.   
“C… Codsworth?” 

“Why yes, I-” Codsworth cut himself off before he could say anything else. “Madam, you are crying,” he noted with a worried tone to his voice. 

“Codsworth, where is Shaun?” Justin asked, her face red and wet, and trying to get to her feet. “Did you see him?”

“Young master Shaun? Why, he must be with the misses,” Codsworth answered, completely unaware and seemingly oblivious to the state of the world. “I could go check on it, if you wish.”

“No, Codsworth,” she cried. “He’s gone. They took him. They killed mom and took Shaun.” 

Codsworth pauses at her statement, but it only lasts a moment. “Mum… these things you’re saying. These… terrible things. I… I believe you need a distraction. Yes. A distraction to calm this dire mood. It-”

“No, Codsworth,” Justin screamed, closing her eyes tightly and clenching her fists. “Don’t you understand?” 

Again, Codsworth paused, this time also flinching somewhat at her reaction. “My… it seems things are worse than they seem.”

The stranger that stood beside codsworth had lowered their arms by now and crinkled their brow at the Mister Handy, a light frown on their face, after which they looked back to Justin, who was clearly in need of some manner of emotional support that this machine didn’t know how to give.

“You’re suffering from hunger induced paranoia. Not eating properly for two hundred years with do that, I’m afraid.”

“W-what?” Justin’s eyes opened and she dropped her weapon, raising her hands to her head and grabbing her hair. “N- no…”

“Ah… mum?” Codsworth asked, softly. “M… miss Wilson, perhaps it is a thought to search the neighborhood. They could very well just be hiding.”

“N…” Justin took a shaky breath and lowered her arms. A concerned look was cast at the robot. Usually he wasn’t quite this dense, in her experience. “Codsworth, are you okay?” 

“Oh, I’m-” The appearance was held up pretty well until that moment. Even when he had no normal body language to speak of, his tone of voice spoke volumes. “Oh mum, it’s been just horrible,” he wailed. “Two centuries with no one to talk to, no one to serve. I spent the first ten years trying to keep the floors waxed, but nothing gets out nuclear fallout from vinyl wood. Nothing!”  
Justin stared as he opened his heart to her like that. She’d never thought a robot could get so emotional over the company of others or cleaning. 

“And don’t get me started about the futility of dusting a collapsed house. And the car?” His body hobbled as he screamed out. “The car! How do you polish rust?” 

“And this!” Codsworth gestured to the stranger beside him. “This is the first person I’ve seen who didn’t want to beat me down with a stick. I...”

Justin wiped her cheek and sniffed a little. “Codsworth, It’s- It’s okay. Just keep it together.”

“I don’t know anything, mum,” He admitted, noticeably calmer, but still seeming somewhat upset. It was understandable, considering all he must have been through the past centuries. 

Centuries. So much time? Justin was in thought, while Codsworth spoke. She snapped out of it when he told her that he was certain she and her family were dead. Well, he was partly right. One of them was.

She was offered a holotape. Her mother left her a present? Her eighteenth birthday had been on its way before all this happened.

“I… I…” Justin wiped the last of her tears away, and took the holotape in hand, tucking it into her vault suit as best she could.

It was good to have at least run into one friendly face through all this mess, even if it was not the one she was searching for.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucius and the young sole survivor go to Concord.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today I learned that I can post chapters on my phone.

“Hey, boy. What are you doing out here all by yourself?” - Justin Wilson

It had been less than a day since Justin left the vault. Codsworth had directed her to go to Concord to seek help after she had humored him with a search for Shaun through Sanctuary. He probably needed it to ease his conscience or something. The stranger he was with offered to escort her. As much as she didn’t like the idea of traveling with a stranger up here, she dislike the idea of running into a group of thugs all on her own more. Codsworth had told her all about the way they’d greeted him over in Concord, and Justin didn't like the sound of it.

By now, the stranger had introduced themself as Lucius. They were traveling with a caravan and came across Sanctuary. It seemed like a safe enough place to stop for a bit, and Codsworth greeted some of them when they started looking about. Really, some were surprised he hadn't gone completely out of his gourd like a few Mister Handy units did. 

The caravan had enough food and gear to prepare Justin for the trip. It wasn't that much, but she had been quite hungry after making it to Sanctuary, so she welcomed the help, albeit a little cautiously. They also gave her more protection and more carrying space than she had before, so she couldn’t complain.

On the way to the Red Rocket station, Justin had already spotted her first human corpse since reaching the surface and what seemed like a rashy hairless dog. Neither were as well preserved as the bodies in the vault. Both had soiled wounds that seeped blood onto the ground. 

Lucius kept Justin at a bit of a distance from the body, not aware of what she had already seen. Their eyes darted aside to spot Justin keeping a wide gaze on the bodies as she shuffled by. 

“I wish I could tell you this was uncommon,” Lucius uttered, continuing to keep Justin walking ahead with a hand on her shoulder. “Know that I won't let that happen to you, while I am with you.”

The two halted, Lucius’ grip slightly tightening while trying to pull Justin back, as soon as another dog came into view. Unlike the other dog, however, it looked relatively normal, and its body language, the wagging and raised ears, was less than hostile. Justin could clearly see it, and she knew Lucius saw it as well, since their grip on her loosened some and they eventually let go all together.

It was somewhat of a relief to see such a nice animal after only having seen mutated variants this whole time. He was happy to let Justin pet him, and just stood there while Justin talked to him. Lucius, however, stood at a distance, observing the surroundings as though they still didn't trust this creature.

“So where are you from, huh?” she asked while she scratched behind his ear. “You lost?”

“This dog might be from Concord,” Lucius noted as they watched Justin play with the dog.

Suddenly, the dog’s ears perked up and alert eyes turned towards Lucius. Justin followed the animal’s gaze and lifted her gun when she saw something coming up from the ground. It wasn’t but a moment that it managed to stay alive, for Lucius shot it down with such a haste that it just barely got to poke its head up. 

“Mole rats,” they stated, keeping their gun in hand. “More than one. Keep your gun ready.”

Justin heeded the warning with a quick nod and readying of her weapon, but was still caught off guard when one of the large creatures jumped up from beside her. She screamed and quickly shot it in the side. That didn’t do enough to kill it, like Lucius’ gun had done with the first. What did work, however were some teeth to the face. The dog had descended onto the animal as soon as it was vulnerable and bit its neck open, attacking it until it stopped moving. 

While that scene unfolded, Justin could hear Lucius attacking other mole rats in the background. There was only one more that jumped up at Justin. She hit it in the head and shot it when it was down. This hitting and shooting thing seemed to have been a decent enough tactic for her, so far.

Lucius sighed when the fights was over and started walking. “We should go, before more come. I don’t want to waste ammo on them.”

“R-right.” Justin perked up and took a few large strides to get back beside Lucius. 

She glanced at Lucius, who kept their eyes front, and quickly followed the example, awkwardly straightening her back as well. “So, those were-” 

Justin got interrupted by Lucius raising their weapon at something up ahead that she hadn’t seen yet. They widened their stance and shot. Justin wasn’t sure what was going on, but she did see something fall down. Another thing moved over. Flying. Justin furrowed her brows. A mosquito? A giant mosquito. So, giant flies, giant roaches, big rats, and huge mosquitos. 

Lucius kept aim on it, until it flew off. 

“So that’s what radiation does with bugs,” Justin thought out loud. 

“Hm?” Lucius gave Justin a quick glance while they waited to see if the bug was gone to stay, and then kept walking. “They weren’t that big, I presume.”

“These things used to be pretty tiny, actually.”

Lucius just hummed in response, slowing their steps as they seemed to tense. 

“Justin, stay behind me and follow my lead.”  
“Wh-”  
“Just listen to me.”

Justin was confused but did as she was told, following Lucius around the houses, crouching close behind them. She didn’t know why until they got nearer to the buildings. There was gunfire in the distance. 

Once ducked in an alleyway, Lucius turned to Justin and put a finger to their lips.   
“You wait here until I give you the go ahead.”

Justin nodded at them and stayed put while they went closer to the edge of the wall, pulling their headgear up and covering their face with a bandana. Their armor would have made it hard to keep crouched for too long, Justin imagined, but they did pretty well. Their first shot was fired, and they quickly returned to cover before anyone saw them. 

The dog had run out of cover and was now attacking as well. It was both helpful and not. The dog distracted the raiders, but also made Lucius get out from cover more often to ensure that they shot whoever started attacking the animal.

It was unnerving just sitting still, not seeing the battle, while the only person capable of protecting her was risking themself. They could have just walked away.

Shots were being fired to where Lucius was sitting, and Justin nearly followed when they ran to new cover. However she figured that she’d just get herself shot, and this was the best way to make sure these people would not come looking where she was hiding.

She saw Lucius switch weapons while running. She didn't know why, until someone appeared from around the corner with a bat. Their charge was cut short with a shotgun blast to the face, sending a loud bang and bits of bone and flesh through the air while the body went limp.

Justin’s eyes widened seeing that. Yes, she knew people got shot and killed out here. Yes, she had seen bodies. She had even seen a murder, but this one was far more gruesome. She did read about things in stories, but seeing it was so very different from just imagining it in the safety of your living room. Her eyes turned away from the scene. The world had changed so much. 

Once again, she was in thought while things were happening around her. Everything went so fast and so sudden. She didn’t know how to process it all while still hurrying to find her brother before this place ate him up alive. 

The dog’s growling and the gunfire echoes in her mind and she curled up. She couldn’t fight like Lucius. She was just in the way. How was she supposed to find anyone when she was like this, just a liability. It would have been better if she was the one who’d gotten shot. At least her mother wouldn’t have been sitting in alley, feeling sorry for herself while some stranger and a stray dog did all the fighting for her. 

Some distant screams and loud gun shots made Justin’s shoulders jump and she curled up tighter with her gun held close to her in her arms. This was all so surreal.

She heard footsteps, and looked up to see Lucius back behind cover. They shot one last time, and went over to Justin, and uncovered their face again. Their brows were furrowed in concern. “I can take you back to Sanctuary, if that's better.”

Justin just shook her head, and got back on her feet. She had to do this. Lucius kept their eyes on hers, and then gave a slow nod back. “Just stay behind me. There’s still one person left.” They talked slowly and calmly, as to make them easier to understand and not make Justin any more anxious than they knew she was. “Don’t look around you when the fight is over and we leave cover. Just keep your eyes on me or to the balcony.”

“Why the balcony?”

“That’s where we've found a non-hostile,” they explained. “Other than this person, I don’t think we’ll find anyone helpful here.”

Justin nodded. She contemplated not listening to Lucius, considering that she had to get used to the shit this new America had to throw at her. However, Lucius knew that all this death was not what she needed to see right now, and she knew that, too. She tried to inch next to Lucius, at the edge of her cover, while they were taking aim, and waited. While waiting, she toyed with her weapon, aiming it at a street lamp. She knew she couldn’t shoot a human just yet. It wasn’t in her to try, unless it was absolutely needed, but she had to start getting used to it. Her aim wasn't the best, still. Her hands trembled erratically, constantly taking the sight off of the target.

Suddenly, there was a red light, and an zapping noise. The sound made Justin recoil, and she could hear someone fall to the ground. Carefully, he peered around, and up at the balcony, at the person that took the shot, the person Lucius mentioned. Large eyes stared up at this new person. He had a hat that reminded her of those cowboy’s she’d seen in comics and on television before. 

This man held onto his gun, as if he had no confidence that they weren’t ready to shoot at him like those others had, and Justin didn’t blame him. He probably had seen far more than she had as well. 

Hopefully, it wouldn't be too hard to convince him that they were harmless to him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The young sole survivor and her escort try to get to Preston and his people

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to avoid most of the in-game dialog by time skipping on them between chapters.

“Hey! Up here, on the balcony! I’ve got a group of settlers, inside. The raiders are almost through the door. Grab that laser musket and help us, please!” - Preston Garvey

Settlers? That’s what these people were after? What kind of shit did they get themselves into to cause all this mess?

Justin stared at Lucius, whose face remained unmoved by this stranger’s request. They thought on it. Personally, Justin wasn’t sure if accepting this task was a good idea. Lucius was just one person, and she wasn’t the best backup. She had already established that moments ago. On the other hand, this person was in need, and she was told to help people whenever she could. She didn’t want to leave a good person behind like that. 

Before she was even done thinking, Lucius had already sighed and started walking to the door, snatching up the laser musket and ammo on the way, and giving a small nod to the body that lay beside it. They turned to Justin, and waited for her to come along to give her the new weapon, then pushed the door askew to slip inside unnoticed. 

Gunfire already rang through the area. There were two people in sight above them. Both were preoccupied. Lucius, held an arm out to stop Justin from going ahead then pointed to their gun and then the raiders, letting Justin know they were about to shoot. She glanced away as they raised their laser rifle and took a well-aimed shot at the closest target. After the target went down, Lucius put an arm behind Justin and hurried to the door at the side of the room, before the second raider could start attacking them. 

The dog came in once they had moved away from the entrance, and kept low to the ground to follow them. 

“Okay. I know that you’ve no idea of how to use this thing,” Lucius started. “I saw the stranger use it.” They pointed to the lever at the side, and Justin watched carefully. “You turn this lever three hundred and sixty degrees, moving it away from you when pointed upward, and then shoot. You need to do that whenever you take a new shot. It costs a lot of time, but it hurts more than your pistol.”

After that brief explanation, Lucius turned around and started walking. Justin kept a bit of a distance as to not be in the way in the event that Lucius needed to back up or dodge something. 

Her eyes darted about the place. This museum was something she still remembered visiting as a child. It was different now, of course. It was blown up, and no cleaning staff had been by in centuries. The mannequins just laid on the ground among the busted showcases, and the shouting and shooting really took away from its old atmosphere. 

A raider hid around the corner of the door to the next room, waiting but failing to keep quiet enough to go unnoticed, and Lucius gestured for Justin to go hide behind some of the wooden blocks while the dog ran up to the person and immobilized them. The raider could be heard struggling, trying to pull their arm loose from the animal’s grasp. They were too preoccupied to notice that Lucius had opted for a more hands on approach than shooting. Heavy steps approached, Lucius grabbed the raider by the shoulder, knife in hand, and plunged the metal deep into their throat. Justin didn’t even have to hide from this fight with how short it was, but, hearing the raider's gurgling, she was glad that she did. There were more people up ahead though, and Lucius was ready with laser rifle in hand after having sheathed their blade. This person had noticed the commotion and had taken to hiding behind one of the pillars on the second floor. Lucius went up the steps, keeping an eye on where this raider was hiding. The raider came from behind the cover and started shooting, but quickly went back when they saw Lucius take aim. They weren't fast enough to avoid getting hit, however. It was still fast enough to avoid a fatal hit though.

An annoyed huff left Lucius’ lips, and they went behind cover until they heard the raider stop shooting, presumably to reload their weapon. A perfect opportunity to shoot, were the raider not hiding as well.

There was nothing Lucius could do but advance farther, and Justin followed. The person came back from cover, and took aim at Lucius. Seeing someone try to attack Lucius so suddenly, this time, had started Justin into action. The moment Justin saw them appear from their cover she raised her gun and fired. She didn’t hit, but it distracted the raider who turned their face to where Justin had hit, long enough to allow Lucius to take them out.

The two made eye contact after the raider fell, and Lucius granted Justin a quick nod in thanks.

They proceeded on their way, and made it into a room where two raiders were arguing on whether they should leave or not. Honestly, they made their decision when they attacked these people, and Lucius was not going to wait for them to possibly stand down. They pulled a grenade from their belt, gestured for Justin to stay back with the dog, and took out the pin. It was a risk, but they dropped the grenade into the room as discreetly as possible. The two men who were first arguing immediately stopped once they’d heard the tap of it falling on the ground, trying to search for what it was and where it was, but they were too late by the time it was found. 

A loud blast sounded through the building and the men screamed, after which Lucius walked through the room with Justin and finished them both off in passing. Justin kept looking ahead, with a hand shielding her mouth from the smoke in the air.

The third floor only had two more people to kill. They couldn’t afford to use a grenade here. It was too close to the door the settlers were behind, and they did not want to cause any accidental harm to the people inside that room. It didn't take that long on the steps to this floor to figure out the alternative. Instead, Lucius decided to just face these two head on. The shotgun was needed here. They’d be up close and personal. 

Watching how Lucius switched weapons and took cover, Justin was sure they had done this a lot in their life, and it was both admirable and frightening. Unlike these people Lucius wasn't a raider. In fact, they'd told her that they were part of a trading caravan. A guard, but not military. Did she have to learn all this just to live up here? Where would she even learn all this?

There was a door between Lucius and the last raiders in the building. Lucius just open the door, and grab the first person behind it, spurting a loud, “What the-” from the target. The raider stumbled and twisted out of their grasp, letting out a low grunt and swinging his tire iron through the air. It didn’t hit anything. Once he was loose, he turned and tried to take a swing at Lucius while his friend came over with a gun in hand. The dog pounced at the gunman, interrupting his shot, and Lucius shot the one they’d wrestled onto the room in the side, after which they turned to the one with the gun. 

The dog was yanking at this man’s sleeve, which had the hand with the gun in it, and the raider was trying his hardest to get loose, going as far as to try and hit and kick the animal. It was no use. Lucius had already raised their weapon at him, and took the shot at point-blank range to the neck. 

A gurgle left the man as he fell to the ground and struggled to breathe. The other man was blacked out from the pain and bleeding. As long as he was out, Lucius didn’t care to waste ammo on him, and gestured for Justin to follow into the next room, the one the settlers were supposed to be in.

No one had paid any attention to the frightened girl by the steps, whose shoulders jumped at every move taken that fight, whose eyes were wide with shock, and whose breath was being held far too long, until then. 

She stared at the dying raider, frozen.   
Lucius realized their action once they saw the look on her colorless face. They quickly put a hand on her arm. Before doing anything else, they wiped their face with their sleeve, to clean it of the blood that had stuck onto it.

“Justin, look at me.”

It took a few seconds, but she eventually listened, and locked eyes with them. 

“I don't…” Justin uttered.

“You're doing great. We're done, now.”

Lucius’ hand lowered to hers, and they started gently tugging her along.

“Just keep looking at me.”

“Okay…”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucius and Justin finally get to finish off the raiders at Concord. It's a short chapter.

“Man, I don’t know who you are, but your timing is impeccable. Preston Garvey, Commonwealth Minutemen.” - I don't think I need to tell you who said that.

The roof of the Museum. It was in better shape than Lucius had expected. With how heavy most Vertibirds were, they were surprised that so much of this building had even remained intact for so long. 

They'd spoken to the settlers, and to the man in charge. Preston Garvey. That was not a name they were expecting to hear in this area. It was even more surprising to see the man himself, after what happened to the Minutemen. They didn't question it. After all, it made sense to get as far away from Quincy as they could, if the small bit of info they had was anything to go by. Justin did have questions, of course, but she was new to the surface, and didn't know everything that had happened. 

After talking with Preston and Sturges, Lucius told Justin to wait with the settlers, and collected the fusion core and left to go power up the armor. It was not quite as cherrie as Sturges had said it was. It had rust spots and some of the metal had corrosion holes in it, but it was going to have to do. The rough metal made a soft scraping sound as the suit’s back was manipulated to place the fusion core, and again when it opened for Lucius to enter. 

They quickly looked the rig over to be sure if it'd work. It was going to be a fit, albeit an uncomfortable one. 

Once they got the joints moving, and their backup weapon strapped to their side, they were ready to begin.

A loud screech rang through the vertibird when Lucius tore the minigun off of it. Good to know that part of the power armor rig was in working order. Now to see if the same could be said of the shock dampening. 

‘Best hurry, before they realize what's happening,’ Lucius thought.

Without any hesitation or concern, Lucius paced towards the edge of the building and jumped. The raiders closest to them nearly toppled over in their shock, and, before they knew it, they were in the sights of a revving minigun. 

Honestly, heavy weapons weren't Lucius’ specialty, but the raiders went down easy either way. Now Lucius didn’t need to waste fusion cells on these people. 

Back in the room, justin had been waiting as she was told to do. She was tense and afraid. She could hear the gunfire outside and hoped with all her heart that things were going well out there. She didn’t want anyone to die. The moment she heard an explosion, she jumped, clutching her gun tightly. She ran for the door. Sturges tried to stop her, reaching with one hand and trying to say something, but she got through before he could even get up. There was room enough on the balcony for two people, and if no one else was going to help, she would. 

Down below, she saw something that could be described as coming from a nightmare chasing after Lucius, and blocking their attempts at taking cover inside hard to reach areas. Even with the weight of the armor visibly slowing them down, they kept running and dodging from the creature's attacks. The gatling gun had been abandoned on the street, dropped in favor of their laser rifle. 

Justin crouched next to Preston, who was too busy shooting to say anything to her, and started opening fire on the monster. Justin’s weapon didn’t seem to be making much of a dent at all, but she desperately kept shooting, hoping every shot would eventually add up. 

In the split second in which Lucius had glanced up at Justin from behind the cover of one of the ruined cars that littered the streets, the creature charged. It ran right for where Lucius was hiding, and they had to move fast. Lucius came from behind their cover to avoid the impact, but it hadn't been quite fast enough. The car screeched against the concrete while the creature’s leg pushed against it. Large claws slashed Lucius along the chest. The creature then swung with the other claw, grabbed hold of Lucius’ head, and lifted them with ease, even with all its injuries. Lucius kept shooting and only stopped when the creature slammed them into the ground with loud metallic crash. Their gun clattered out of their hands and onto the pavement. The beast roared at them when they didn’t move, and then quickly turned towards the balcony. 

Justin heard Preston cry out when Lucius’ head met the ground. She gasped as she watched Lucius’ still form behind the monster. She clenched her teeth, tears welling up in her eyes, and started firing as fast as she could. Before it could make it to the balcony, however, the creature was taken by surprise with a grenade rolling towards it's leg from behind. It turned its head, and was accosted by a large green blast that sent shrapnel through its thick skin, causing it to emit a loud roar. The blast took Justin by surprise as well, and she jumped a little at the bright light and loud bang. Preston, however, seemed mostly unmoved and did not pause his fire for even a second. 

The beast tried to turn back towards Lucius all the way, but its leg was too damaged, and it tripped up. 

Lucius picked up their gun, and slowly pushed themself up with a soft groan, then resumed their shooting. The creature’s skin was riddled with searing wounds. It already had several before the grenade hit, but it only now seemed to be having an effect. As the group assaulted the beast with their fire, its roars and growls became softer, and the three knew the fight was almost over. One more grenade. Lucius gently rolled it just by the creature’s face. With the close blast, the skin of the creature was scorched and ripped apart. Finally, it lowered its head and stopped moving.

As soon as she was sure the thing was dead, Justin left the balcony, and ran for the exit, nearly jumping down the stairs to the lower levels, to open the doors for Lucius. She shoved open the doors, and looked over. Lucius was crouched over by the monster, while softly shaking their head. Justin looked at the carcass, and wondered if it could still get up after all this. While hesitant, she still wanted to check on Lucius, so she walked past the creature, and crouched beside them. 

“Are you okay?”  
“Hm?” Lucius’ eyes quickly darted towards her. “Oh, yes,” they replied, so calm that is almost seemed as though they hadn’t just been in a fight with a colossal reptile that nearly smashed their head like a can of sausages. They were just one level of dismissal away from shrugging with one shoulder. “I already injected a stimpak; I should be fine.” 

“What was that?” Justin asked while eyeing the creature with some lingering fear.   
“A deathclaw.” Lucius got up and rolled their shoulders. “We should return to the settlers. Make sure they’ll be alright, after all this.” 

“Oh, yeah.” Justin quickly jumped up, and started following behind Lucius, back into the building. She kept a close eye on them; no one could be that okay after what just happened.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang gets out of Concord and get ready for their trip to Diamond City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Behold my attempt at writing Codsworth, this time less bad. Next chapter is my turn to struggle writing someone else.

“It’s far less bad than it looks.” 

Lucius walked, still clad in power armor, alongside Justin, a little behind the small group of settlers they'd saved. The people had voiced their plan to head for Sanctuary, and one had suggested for Justin to go to Diamond City. It was going to be a long trip from Concord, so Lucius thought it best to head back and sort out their gear and supplies first. Especially after running into a beast that strong so soon.

Justin kept an eye on Lucius while walking, running a finger over the laser musket Lucius let her keep. She'd been looking at them, usually glancing, even staring when she thought they weren't paying attention, since they'd left Concord. Understandable, of course. After all, Lucius still seemed to be pretty banged up in the scratched and dented armor that was stained with dried blood from varying sources and covered in rust and caked on dirt along with small bits of shrapnel. 

“Reall. It looks far worse than it actually is,” Lucius assured once more, causing Justin to quickly turn her eyes front. 

Justin wasn't so certain she could believe them. For all she knew, they were so badly hurt that it was just the armor keeping them moving, and they were only saying they were fine to keep her calm. Her mother had done that kind of thing a lot, even when pregnant. Always worrying more about others than about herself. It was comforting to think that she had found that trait in someone else so soon. Maybe the wasteland had more people like that than she thought. A quick glance was passed towards Preston, who was walking ahead of the group. He was probably like that as well, since he did stick out his neck for an unarmed bunch of civilians. Maybe the wasteland wasn't as hopeless as she'd thought.

When they got to Sanctuary, and Lucius had been greeted by their people, who checked if Lucius and Justin were both really okay, they explained the situation. They were given supplies for their journey, and started packing with Codsworth. It was hard for Justin to fit everything in one bag, especially all the post-war food items. She didn't even know what was edible and what not. Luckily, Lucius was more than willing to talk her through it. Apparently, there was a way to remove radiation from the items that weren't toxic, and mutfruit didn't taste all too bad. Tato chips were an acquired taste, however, and she didn't know what to expect of the dried meats either. Really, she wasn't sure if she wanted to eat any mutated shit, but it wasn't like she had much choice.

Lucius let out a soft chuckle when Justin made a distasteful look at the dried molerat meat.   
“I honestly don't blame you,” they stated. “It's not the tastiest, even with our attempts at fixing it.” 

They put the meat into their own bag, and got out something else. “I could give you brahmin or more fruit instead.”  
“Is brahmin safe to eat?”  
“I wouldn't offer it to you, if it wasn't,” Lucius replied with a slight nod.   
“Mum, you don’t think sir would try to poison you after all the trouble you went through,” Codsworth added while gesturing with his pincer.

Just let out a soft chuckle. “Alright, Codsy. You’re right,” she admitted. “Then I don't mind which you give me.”

With a nod, Lucius placed the rations into Justin’s bag, and then stood up straight.  
“I think we're almost done. It just occurred to me that I should-” 

Just as Lucius was about to head for the door, Preston came in, still holding his laser musket, although a lot more relaxed than when the group was still walking to Sanctuary.

“This must be mister Garvey,” Codsworth greeted. “How good it is to see you. I trust Sanctuary is to your liking.”

“What…” Preston seemed surprised by Codsworth’s presence, and just stared at him for a moment. It wasn’t at long before Justin quickly said something.

“Sorry, I forgot to tell you that Codsworth is a Mister Handy,” she uttered with her brows lowered and her nose a little crinkled from the crooked frown on her face. She hadn’t considered how little Mister Handy units would be out in the wasteland in working order.

“Is there something you need?” Lucius asked, causing Preston to quickly turn his attention away from Codsworth, after giving the robot a quick tip of the hat, while his shoulders relaxed a little. 

“I just wanted to check if you were alright. I realize I didn't ask after the fight.” Preston briefly turned his face down. Even with some minor attempt at subtlety, it was clear enough that he was eyeing the various bruises on Lucius’ skin. “Looks pretty bad…”

“It's just bruising. Nothing is broken,” Lucius dismissed, while rubbing one of the bruises on their arm. “And the bleeding stopped a while ago.”

“What about your head?” Preston asked with his brows furrowed.

“A stimpak took care of most of it. Don't worry.” 

“Don’t worry, sir,” Codsworth assured, “Both assured me that they are in pique condition, even with some of their scrapes. Nothing a band aid can’t fix, I’m sure.”

“Exactly.” Lucius stated, then ran a hand over the side of their neck, and sighed. “That suit was both a blessing and a curse, actually. I wasn't fast enough to evade that one attack.” 

Watching from a distance, Justin was a little surprised by how short Lucius actually was. She'd not seen them with their caravan members before, and was too busy focusing on the situation in Concord or on only Lucius to have noticed before. Although, given the lack of easily accessible food, now, people would be shorter. She blinked, and looked Preston over. He was about a head taller than Lucius.

Preston shifted his weight over to one leg and his head tilted slightly to the side. “Was that your first time wearing power armor?”

“No, no,” Lucius answered with a slight shake of the head. “I would have been completely lost, otherwise. You need training to handle it properly.” With a small hand gesture, they explained, “I used to spend time with people who had some old rigs.”

Lucius rested their arms beside their torso, rubbing their thumb against their fingers as they resisted the urge to fold their hands behind their back, and met Preston's eyes. “Was there anything else you wanted, or was knowing if I'm alright everything?”

“Well, I was going to ask you if you could help with something else, but…”   
“What did you need?” Lucius asked, giving Preston a calm and attentive look with brows a little raised. It was a look that made Justin smile witnessing it, and Preston straighten his stance a little more.  
“Well, if you got men to spare, I wanted to ask if you could help with a settlement, south east of here.” Preston elaborated, seeming a little unsure if Lucius would actually accept, “They've been asking for help for a while, but I was trying to save the people here.”

Lucius gave a small nod with a mild smile while they briefly cast their eyes to the ground. There was a slight solemn look in them. Justin stared at Lucius with her brows furrowed, not sure why they looked sad, until recalling Preston telling them how many people he'd lost on his way here. She quickly turned her face back to her bag with a slight frown.

“I understand,” Lucius replied. They furrowed their brows slightly. “Although, I suggest you get some rest while I let my people guard yours, for a while. You've done quite enough, I think. Give me the location. I'll mark it down and head there once I've brought Justin to Diamond City. She-” Lucius quickly stopped themself before telling Preston about Justin's business, and gave her a quick glance.

“Someone kidnapped my brother out of the vault…” She explained, almost too casually. “I think they killed everyone else, too. I’m trying to find him.”

Preston’s eyes went wide. “Oh, damn. I-” He lifted his gun into his arms and gave a small nod. “I shouldn’t keep you much longer, then.”

Lucius walked to their bag, Preston following a little behind them, and got out a map, as well as a pencil. They showed it to Preston, who pointed to an area on the map before being handed the pencil to circle it with.  
“It’s over there. Tenpines Bluff.“  
“Ah, alright.” Lucius rolled up the map, and accepted their pencil back, then turned to put them both back in their bag. “I'll take care of it, as soon as I can.”

“Thank you. I'll get going.” Preston turned to leave. “Good luck finding your brother.”

While Preston left the room, Lucius quickly informed him, “If I take too long to return, assume something happened and let one of my colleagues take the job. They won't mind.”

Preston briefly paused and nodded. “Got it. Be careful out there.”

Once everything was done, and Lucius and Justin were ready to head out, they left for Diamond City, Codsworth following behind them. He was in on the search as well, after all. 

There was a long stretch of nothing, activity wise, after Concord. Justin beheld all the destruction around. The roads she used to know, now cracked and grown over by plants. The rusted cars and rails along it. Green grass was hard to come by. A tear formed in one of her eyes, and she felt a tightness in her chest.

“Such a terrible waste,” Codsworth lamented as the group moved.   
One of his cameras turned to Justin. Even to a faceless machine, the expression she pulled was hard to misunderstand. Of course, he was made for interacting with humans. “I am so sorry, mum. We’ll find young Shaun. Don’t worry.”

“I know this is hard to see,” Lucius uttered, after seeing the look on Justin's face as well, “You’ll get through this, however. You have to.”

She hadn't noticed either of them looking before they spoke, but then again, Lucius often seemed to notice things without her knowing they looked, and Codsworth’s eyes were all the way in her periphery. Justin wiped her eyes, and tried to swallow down the lump in her throat.  
“Is everything like this?”

“Almost, everything, yes,” Lucius answered with audible regret. “I'm afraid a lot of humanity has sunken quite far, as well.”

Just after they said that, they quickly halted and put a hand in front of Justin, then started backing up and moving to the side, like they just saw something. Justin followed, and crouched down when they did, but gave them a puzzled look.

“Raiders ahead,” Lucius noted.

Alert eyes locked onto where they claimed to have spotted raiders. Justin tried to see, but there was no one. Maybe whoever Lucius saw just moved out of her line of sight, but she still wasn’t sure how they were so certain that it had been a raider and not a scavenger or a fellow caravan guard. 

Lucius kept a tight hold on their gun, and glanced from the raiders, to Justin, and back. They made an inclination to move in, but stopped themself, and started hesitating some more, before stopping it completely with annoyed shake of the head. 

“Follow me,” Lucius sighed, after which they moved up, still crouched, and slipped behind a building on the opposite side of the road from the raiders. “I’m not going to risk your life, again, just to take out some raiders. It’s not as though anyone is in any immediate need of help.”

“I understand,” Justin replied. “Thank you. Though, if we do run into someone who does need help, I’d like to give it to them.” 

Lucius’ gaze stuck on Justin for a moment, then they gave a slow nod, and kept moving. 

“Mum, you’re aware that you are just seventeen, yes?” Codsworth softly inquired.   
“Codsworth, I need to learn how to handle myself, somehow,” Justin argued. “I might as well lend a hand while I’m at it.”

When they were far enough away, Justin asked, “Are raiders common?” 

“Unfortunately, yes,” Lucius sighed. “They prey on defenseless travelers and merchants. They attack settlements, and lone homes. They have no regard for the needs of others at all. I understand doing what’s needed to survive, but they take it too far.” 

“And the Minutemen…”

Lucius slowly lowered their shoulders. “They were good people, for the most part. They kept the people safe, and didn’t make many demands, but something happened. I don’t know how many are still alive, but it’s not enough to keep the raiders and Gunners at bay. They were admirable.”

Justin went quiet, and lowered her gaze to the ground. 

Her pip-boy made a soft noise, and she looked at it. She browsed through the screens, until she got to the radio stations and noticed something new. Military frequency. Gunshots in the distance caught her attention. Lucius had already raised their weapon, as she had expected, by now. 

“There’s a military frequency in range,” she noted to Lucius, before letting it play. 

It was a distress signal from the police station. Lucius twitched their face towards Justin’s pip-boy at the mention of the Brotherhood of Steel. Justin assumed this meant that they knew them, but the expression on their face didn’t seem to be one that denoted a positive opinion. 

“Are they... safe people to help?” Codsworth asked.  
“They are, somewhat, if you mean whether they are trouble, but…” Lucius stopped talking, and averted their eyes. “Ah… They can be rather… terrible.”

Justin furrowed a brow. “What?”  
“I… I suppose they have good people, though.” Lucius took a deep breath and closed their eyes for a bit. It was clear that they knew Justin wasn’t going to let them leave these people after what they’d just said. “There are ferals in this area. Stay close.” 

As visibly apprehensive as they were, there was no doubt to be seen in any of their movements once they’d made their decision. Justin followed close behind, holding her gun at the ready, locked and loaded. 

A gurgling noise was heard around the corner. Lucius slowed their approach, and took aim. Just before they took the shot, Justin caught sight of the thing there, and she gasped, while Codsworth issued a sharp, “Good Lord.” 

That was a feral ghoul? That was a person, at some point. It looked like a deformed corpse.

Lucius quickly looked back at Justin. “Are you alright?”

“Ye-yeah. I’m fine. I’m... going to be,” she uttered. “Just keep going. I’ll be fine.”

Codsworth’s eyes turned towards her. “Mum, are you-”

“I’m okay, Cods. Let’s just keep going.”

Walking farther was easy enough. Lucius tried their best to make sure no other ghouls would notice them, to spare Justin’s nerves some, even with how hard it was while Codsworth flew near them. They did this, until they got the station. There was a far larger number of ghouls there, and it was going to be hard to sneak through with the three of them. They holstered their rifle, and pulled out a shotgun instead. 

“Bring out your pistol,” Lucius told Justin. “We’re going around, but there’s likely still going to be close range encounters.”

Justin nodded, holstering her musket, and switching to a pipe pistol. “Right behind you.”   
“At the ready, sir,” Codsworth announced, lifting his buzzsaw and flamethrower. 

Lucius nodded back at Justin, and started to move. They advanced quietly, avoiding most of the ghouls, but then they noticed some things on the ground. They stuck their hand back to stop Justin. “Traps. Wait a moment.” 

They started looking around, peering over and under surfaces they had to pass, and then walked, after which they gestured for Justin and Codsworth to follow. “Move as I did, and you’ll be fine. There’s no mines down that path.” 

“You can’t disarm them?” Justin questioned.  
“They’re here against the ghouls. I think it’d be best not to bother them,” they argued. “Also, it’s just a risk I won’t take while you need me. Not when we can walk around.” 

Lucius then waved towards the side of a building. “This way.”

Next to the building was an alleyway, which led to the station. There weren’t any ghouls in that direct path, but they still had to get past the ones inside the barricade. There were enough that three were pushed out of the area they were trying to swarm, and around the corner, between the alley and the police station.

All the commotion had made it hard for Lucius to know that there were two ghouls ahead, but quick reflexes were enough for them to take out the first they saw in one hit. Justin wasn’t sure if it was just that they were startled at just the right time, or if that was genuine skill.

“Shit,” Lucius hissed when the two remaining ghouls noticed them and went in for the attack at once. Lucius pushed Justin away while they let one ghoul charge past them, and quickly shot the other in the chest before blasting it again in the head. Justin quickly cranked her weapon, and aimed at the one that was now on the ground after toppling from the momentum of its failed charge. She let loose a shot on the creature’s arm, and it growled in response, trying to move away and get up. That attempt was cut short, however by a saw to the neck and flames to the torso.

The sound it made was disgusting, and Justin had to look away from the struggle, but Codsworth had eventually managed to pacify the creature through a nice decapitation.

They had a clear shot of the ghouls attacking the soldiers, now, and Lucius started to get rid of the ones on their side. Codsworth went in the thick of it, burning larger collections of ferals as they ran in. Once their side of the police station grounds was clear, Lucius and Justin moved up.

Lucius quickly turned their back to the door, and held Justin to keep her between them and the walls next to the steps. This way, their body could shield her from any attacks, while they walked Justin closer to the armored soldier. 

“Stay behind the Paladin,” Lucius shouted, as soon as they were in front of the steps, while continuing their attacks on the ghouls charging into their view. 

Justin had no time to say anything back or even nod, but she did have enough of a clue to figure that the Paladin would be the one in the big armor, and ran. One ghoul tried to swipe at her from the side, but Lucius quickly intervened by ramming it aside with the handle of their gun. After being sure that Justin was safely positioned, Lucius went back into the fray.

Justin knew she had to stay put, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t do anything. While she shot and cranked her weapon throughout the fight, Justin kept thinking to herself that she had no time to freak out right now. She could freak out later. She could always freak out later. Right now, people needed her to stay in the fight, no matter how new she was to all of this. As long as she knew not to aim where Lucius was, she would be of some help.

It was disgusting seeing all of this. Some bodies burned, others lost limbs. She didn’t know if it looked worse than the dead raiders or not. They were ugly, but by all rights, they were pretty much wild animals by now. The only thing that really distracted her were the loud cries of Codsworth as he had at these things.

As the fight went on, less ghouls arrived, and the shouting became less, until there were only single stragglers that still tried to get the jump on them.

“Well, that was rather exhilarating,” Codsworth voiced as he scanned the area for more enemies. Lucius went on ahead, and out of sight, while the armored soldier waited to give the all clear. 

When Lucius returned, greeting them with a quick nod, the soldier lowered his weapon. Lucius spoke before getting to the soldier.

“We heard your distress signal while passing through,” they explained. “I know we are not Brotherhood personnel, but it seemed that you were in imminent danger.” 

“That saves me the trouble of asking,” The soldier replied with slight sigh. “Are you from a local settlement?”

“One of us, yes. I am escorting her, and she wanted to help you.”

The soldier turned towards Justin and gave a single nod. “It’s appreciated,” he noted, after which he turned back to Lucius. “If I appear suspicious, it’s because our mission here has been difficult. Since the moment we arrived in the Commonwealth, we’ve been constantly under fire.”

“You don't seem overly suspicious at all,” Lucius assured with a wave of the hand. “It's only smart to make sure you know who is standing with you.”

“True enough,” the soldier commented. Justin moved to stand next to Lucius, and the soldier turned his eyes to her, while adding, “If you want to continue pitching in, we could use an extra gun at our side.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group goes with Danse to find the deep range transmitter. Needless to say, not everyone likes him quite as much as others.

“It was corporation's like this that put the last nail in the coffin for humankind.” - Paladin Danse

Justin walked around, trying to stick close to Lucius, while Danse lead them through the building. ArcJet was a mess with collapsed floors, cracked walls, and broken appliances. Dust rested thick on every surface, although it looked slightly disturbed around some parts. Justin chalked it up to vermin or scavengers. Where Codsworth flew, still a lot of it got blown up into the air, causing Justin to try and cover her face to prevent from coughing.

They’d learned that the people at the station were a recon squad in serious peril, and trying to make contact with their faction. Lucius was still surprisingly reluctant about helping them, despite how polite Lucius had acted to them, and Justin didn't understand, but she insisted on not abandoning them in such a fragile state. She didn’t see the harm in getting them the transmitter they needed, and Codsworth agreed. Two to one, they ended up going.

The way to where supposedly was, hadn't been a long walk. They’d run into some resistance on the way, but the soldier, who Justin had learned was called Danse, made quick work of most foes.

Once they'd made it to ArcJet, and got into one of the rooms, it was evident that Danse wasn’t the only one who could make quick work of his enemies. In the room lay several broken securitrons with limbs broken off and damaged wiring exposed. 

Danse halted, and Lucius stood next him with furrowed brows and a frown. 

“Look at these wrecks,” Danse stated while he turned his head to examine the remains. “Looks like the automated security has already been dealt with.”  
Lucius kept their eyes to the ground as well. They seemed concerned. “I see.”  
Justin crooked one brow, and gave Lucius a puzzled look. “Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Negative,” Danse immediately responded. “Look at the evidence. There is not a single spent ammunition casing or a drop of blood in sight.” His head turned a little to face Lucius, who clearly already knew the conclusion he was getting at. “These robots were assaulted by Institute synths.”

“Institute?” Justin asked with her nose crinkled.  
“They’re a group of scientists who went underground when the great war started,” Danse explained, returning his attention to Justin, “and spent the last few decades littering the Commonwealth with their technological nightmares.”

Lucius pulled a crooked frown, furrowed their brows, while rolling their eyes. They took a few steps away from the conversation, letting out a soft huff. 

“I’m guessing you mean the synths?” Justin questioned, tilting her head, and trying her best to make eye contact with the far taller man. “What are those? Just robots?”

“They’re an abuse of technology, created by the Institute. Abominations meant to ‘improve’ upon humanity,” Danse spat with a stern hand gesture. 

Somehow, that made Lucius turn back to the conversation with a deep frown and a tight grip on their gun. “That is a ridiculous claim, only held by people who know nothing about them, and no way to explain their nature,” Lucius cut in, glaring daggers at Danse. “Synths are a form of synthetic creations that range from merely robots to synthetic organisms, and they are just as capable of being people as you and I.”

“Is there something you’ve failed to tell me, civilian?” Danse inquired in a pointedly lower tone than before, speaking slowly and clearly.

“If there was, you’d have found out long ago, I assure you…” Lucius stated, copying Danse's slightly threatening tone. 

Danse turned his imposing form towards Lucius. “Is that a threat?” 

“If you want it to be,” Lucius replied, slowly taking a few steps closer to Danse with still narrowed eyes locked onto the visor of Danse's helmet. Lucius tilted their head slightly, and continued. “What is an abuse of technology is what the Institute does with their creations, not that they created them in the first place.”

“I don't think you understand, civilian,” Danse argued, putting emphasis on the word 'civilian,’ as though that would strengthening his following claim. “Their creation is unacceptable, They simply can’t be allowed to exist. You would feel different, if you had seen what I have.”

“Oh, I’m sure I would…” Lucius kept an annoyed and sceptical look about them. 

Justin’s gaze switched between the two, and she backed up, seeming rather uncomfortable. She wasn’t the only one. Codsworth had lowered his limbs some, observing the situation, and sticking close to Justin, turning a single eye to her when she bumped into him. 

“Well, perhaps, it would be an idea to continue on with the mission?” He then suggested, perking up some, accompanied by a shrug and nod from Justin.  
“That's just a thought, though,” Justin followed, “You could just keep arguing.” 

“Wh…” Lucius furrowed their brows. “Right,” they uttered, after taking a sharp breath, stepping away from Danse. “My apologies. Let’s just agree to disagree.”

Danse was likely not that appreciative of this little argument, but at least it was over. He lingered on Lucius for a moment before turning around. “Let's proceed onwards.” 

The group continued on through the corridors, with a tense silence hanging in the air. Justin shook her head. What was Lucius thinking, starting a fight with someone like this? Maybe the current atmosphere would pass in a bit. The group halted when they get to the next room. The door was shut, and hadn't opened when Danse stood near it. 

“See if you can find a way to get that door open. I’m gonna reconnoiter the area,” Danse stated, turning to look around the room. The rest followed suit, going their own way.

Lucius walked to the door and started the placing of a few traps in front of it, some pulse mines, in case of an ambush. Danse turned his head, and paused his observation of the room to look at Lucius. “ Are you certain that now is the time to use those?”

“Contrary to your previous assumption, I have seen plenty of synths,” Lucius stated, continuing on with the preparation of the second mine. “The gen 2 and 1 units spill no blood and like to ambush. It's likely they locked the door to ward off intruders.” With that, Lucius got back up and walked to the terminal Justin was working on. “I suggest we stay behind the railing in the event that they come rushing in.” 

Danse didn’t argue against it. The synths did tend to ambush, and they were weaker to pulse bombs than any of them were. He didn’t doubt that he could take them on with his rifle, but if Lucius wanted to use these mines, so be it. He just had to keep in mind to stand at a distance to protect his armor from the blast. 

“How is getting the door open getting along?” Lucius asked once standing beside Justin who was leaned in, face oddly close to the screen, with her glasses lowered. She glanced at Lucius and gave a quick nod.

“I found a way to get the password,” she confirmed, after which she handed Lucius a holotape. “Also a log entry.”

“You want to listen to it?”

“No, I was waiting till you were done setting up,” Justin replied, placing her finger over one of the terminal’s buttons. Lucky for her, it was old world technology. Hopefully, it wasn’t too odd for someone to know how to work it. She didn’t think so, considering that there was a man in power armor, which seemed to be built the same as the pre-war suits. “Okay, I’m going to open the doors. Get ready.”

Danse kept his eyes on the door, widening his stance. Justin glanced at him to be sure if he had heard her, then looked at Lucius, who had urged Codsworth the farthest from the door, and remained a respectable distance away from Justin to allow her more space for the expected fray. 

There was a hiss as the door opened, and true to Lucius’ words, synths hid behind it. No shots had to be fired to kill the ones in the room. When they tried to approach, the units in the front stepped on the mines, killing the units closest by, and disrupting ones farther away. 

“You're oddly familiar with these things, civilian,” Danse commented as he advanced. He made quick work of the units that were struggling to return to their full functionality. The small corridor that followed made it hard for anyone but Danse to fire at the rest of the synth units. Turrets had quickly caught his attention, which he took care of before making into the attached room. Lucius quickly made their way up to deal with the unit on their flank, and Justin moved ahead to help with some units that use the room ahead for cover. 

They were to focused on Danse to notice the girl taking pot shots at them. By the time one finally did, its distraction only served to make it easier for Danse to blow its head off, and the other was quickly cut down by Codsworth’s saw. With those dealt with, Danse proceeded. Justin remained still, eyeing the remains of the synth on the ground. The head was unnerving with those previously glowing eyeballs, and those exposed teeth.

Justin’s shoulders jumped when she felt something on her arm. Lucius passed by, trying to get her mind back to the matter at hand. She quickly hurried after Danse, Lucius following close behind.

Danse took point into the next area. There was the familiar sound of something turning or… Justin had hardly any time to think before the sound of gunfire rang through the area. Lucius quickly ran past her, pressing a firm hand on her shoulder to slow her down. More turrets, she quickly realized, halting while she let Danse and Lucius clear the hall, with Codsworth waiting next to her. 

She followed them when the gunfire ended, but was quickly taken aback by the sound of another barrage from around the corner. This time, the wait was even shorter, and Justin and Codsworth quickly rejoined the other half of the group, down a collapsed part of the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter got cut in two, because it was almost twelve A4 long. It's not an even split, however. 
> 
> Also, what is proofreading? Something you do after posting, which makes you regret last month's decisions, I'm sure.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People get a little... hot under the collar, at ArcJet.

“Engine core is ahead. Should be our final stop,” Danse stated, only partially harder to hear through the echoes of his heavy footsteps. 

A sigh of relief left Justin when hearing that news. They hadn’t run into anything they couldn’t handle between the four of them, but she was glad it was almost over. At least, it should be almost over. If how this mission had gone so far was anything to go by, they weren’t about to be so lucky. 

They all went through the door into the next room, one by one. It was dark, but the light on Danse’s helmet was enough to show the way ahead. There was no need for Danse to caution anyone. Lucius was already watching their step, and Justin felt one of Codsworth’s arms resting on her as she walked. Besides, it wasn’t as dimly lit as he was making it out to be, even with the absence of active lights behind him. However, once there was light, it was bright enough that Justin had to close her eyes a bit. After they walked down a set of stairs, it was as though a spotlight was shining down, and it was focused on a large rocket in the middle of the chamber. 

“Look at this place,” Danse gasped with barely concealed awe in his voice as he halted to examine the machine. “Scribes would have a field day in here.” 

Justin glanced to the side and could make out a faint smile on Lucius’ lips, before they quickly dropped it and turned their face elsewhere to check the path they’d have to walk. Danse was quickly done gawking, and walked on ahead, the metal grating under him sometimes creaking with the weight of his suit.

“The transmitter should be in the control room at the top of the core, but it looks like the elevators are dead,” Danse stated as he walked past the elevator doors. “We’ll have to keep heading down for now, and find a way to get the facility’s power back online.”

It only had only taken a glance for Danse to see the elevator wasn’t working. The light wasn’t on, and while that usually would mean he was right, Justin still checked. It wouldn’t be the first time the only busted thing about a device was the indication light. She quickly pressed the hailing button as she passed. Nothing. Well, it looked like they were indeed not as lucky as she had hoped. 

Lucius turned their face to her to make sure she was following, and she could see that they were also less than pleased about this situation. This just cried of something terrible to come. Nothing had been easy since entering that vault.

“There should be a power backup system, somewhere.“ Danse’s headlight shined over the ground and then at a door in one of the walls. Convenient. He turned back to the others and gestured to the door with his elbow. “Scout the maintenance area off the main chamber. I’ll remain here, and watch our backs.” 

Lucius nodded and went through the door with Justin and Codsworth. They hardly needed three people to do this, but if they wanted to stick with them, Lucius wasn’t going to complain. It was likely far safer in here than out there with Danse. They searched around the room, quickly letting their gaze hover over every item in the first part before moving on towards the soft humming noise of an idle terminal. Justin halted, and looked at a holotape next to some odd canon on the table. She took the tape, and let her fingers run over the metal of the canon. She wondered what it was for, but they’d just have to come back for it later and hope the Brotherhood of Steel hadn’t taken it by then.

Justin found Lucius working by a terminal when she walked farther in. She saw a fusion core next to her, and frowned a little, figuring that this must have been the backup Danse spoke of. Looked like the power armor back home was going to be living on rations for a bit, since picking this thing up now would jeopardize the whole mission. A contented hum left Lucius when they hit a key on the terminal, prompting the engine along with a robotic announcer letting them know that the backup generator was now online. The unmistakable sound of combat soon followed.  
Justin looked back and saw synths practically raining down into the room Danse was guarding. He was struggling to keep up with the coming flow. A unit tried to grab him from behind. Justin was about to run to his aid, but a firm hand held her back. Lucius had risen from their seat behind her and rushed to stop her. 

“What are you doing?” Justin shouted, trying to yank herself free, to no avail. Lucius simply held her tight, and slammed their free hand on the button to shut the blast doors.   
“He's wearing a full suit of power armor,” Lucius stated, dragging her along with them to the control panel, “and I am not letting you risk your life against a horde of synths.” 

Justin’s breathing was heavy, and her eyes flickered to the hand Lucius lowered onto the red button in the control panel. It prompted the robotic announcer to declare, “Command accepted. Commencing five second countdown.”

Countdown? Countdown to what? 

Justin watched in horror as the combined numbers of the enemy overwhelmed Danse on the other side of the glass. She wanted to pull herself free, but the painful vice grip on her arm wouldn’t allow it. Once the countdown hit one, it was clear what Lucius had just done. Even before it was announced that the engine was firing, she could see the glow underneath the rocket. She searched the room for Danse, who had been pushed to the wall. In less than a second, a bright flame shot from the rocket, burning the synths in the room. The skin on some charred and melted. The metal on others buckled. Danse crouched down on his knees, while a loud screaming filled the room Justin was watching from. 

“No,” Justin cried, once again squirming against Lucius’ grip. “No. No. Why?”

She could feel Lucius’ hold relenting a short moment after the engine was finished, and she bolted for the door almost immediately. After hitting the door control button, the heat from the launch chamber blew past her her face. The smell of fuel and molten plastic accosted her, but she ran for the other door. The synths had fallen, but she couldn’t see whether Danse was even still alive. 

“Danse,” She yelled when entering, quickly going to his side. She wasn’t certain if she could touch him, or if the metal was now far too hot for that, but he was moving. It seemed a deep breathing. “Are you alright?” 

“Got… cooked by those flames,” he grunted, “but… thanks to my power armor, I’m still in one piece.” Justin crouched down next to him, to check better. His armor was visibly scorched, and his visor was damaged. 

“Your armor is…”

Danse shook his head. “It’s fine. The important thing is that we’re still alive, and we have a way to get to the transmitter.” 

It wasn’t long before Lucius made a jog into the room, after Codsworth had already come floating to Justin. She could hear Codsworth softly mumbling something to himself about this sure beating the old family barbeque. I was a nice attempt at humor, but nobody was smiling. Not even Lucius, who commented, “Almost ninety seven percent efficiency is rather good, for something s old.” 

“What the hell, Lucius,” Justin blurted out, standing back up and being just a little shy from pacing straight towards them. “You nearly kill a man, and all you can talk about is the technology here?” 

“I would check if he is alright, but you already did, and we have a task to complete,” Lucius countered. “If he requires a salve after this, or compensation for the damage to his suit, he may ask.” 

“That won’t be needed,” Danse stated, getting back on his feet, and checking the gun he had shielded from the brunt of the blast. It seemed to be only mildly damaged. Nothing that would hurt its performance. “Let’s go.”

The room in the elevator was limited. With Danse’s armor, and Codsorth’s size, it was going to take two trips for the whole party to make it to the appropriate floor. Lucius had Justin go with Codsworth, and they would go with Danse on the first trip up. Even before the doors closed, Justin could tell it was going to be another awkward silence. With the confined space, that was something she was glad to be missing. It was obvious they didn't like this man, and yet they were with him instead of her or Codsworth. Maybe they were trying to protect her from him. She could only imagine what Danse must think of Lucius, right now. 

When she heard the elevator open at the top, and two sets of footsteps on the metal grating, she quickly looked up to make sure both people were out, before pressing the button. Not that it would have closed on anyone, right? Better safe than sorry with this old junk. It was quiet while her and Codsworth waited for the elevator to get to them, but once they’d gotten in, Codsworth commented, “Well... That was a bit of a mess, wasn’t it?”

Justin snorted. “You think? One would imagine that someone could at least apologize after roasting another human being.” 

“Perhaps sir is just waiting for the right time.”

“You’re too optimistic,” Justin replied with a shake of the head and s mild smile. “The right time for Lucius is probably going to be not at all.” She gestured to the side with one arm. “You saw how they were when we first met him.” 

“There… does seem to be sme animosity,” Codsworth agreed, resting his pincer against his body like someone resting their fingers against their lip. “Hopefully, it won’t affect the rest of our journey.” 

“We probably won’t see these people again, once we’re done here.”  
It was a little after that last statement, that the elevator stopped. Time to be quiet. Even Codsworth knew that much. People didn’t need to know about their gossip. The doors opened, but no one stood in front of it. Justin carefully stepped out and looked aside to find Lucius and Danse. Both had moved away from the elevator to grant Codsworth and Justin some space to step out. It looked as though Lucius was examining Danse’s armor, while Danse stood with his face towards the room they had to be in. Both had already noticed something wrong inside, and were waiting for Justin and Codsworth to arrive before engaging. 

“Enemy up ahead,” Lucius stated as the two approached them. Justin looked. In the room were about three or four synths, some seemingly patrolling while another searched. 

Danse waited for Lucius to be next to them, before giving the order, “Time to engage, and try not to use your flamethrower.” 

A soft, “Understood,” came from behind him, while Codsworth raised his other two limbs.

It didn’t take long for the first unit to fall. It only had a shock baton as weapon. Lucius was currently holding their shotgun in hand, and quickly stated, “I’ll handle this one.” 

All it took was some wide strides, and a shot to the head, and the unit fell down. If the footsteps hadn’t been enough to draw the attention of the other synths, this sure had. All three of them turned towards the sound of their ally hitting the ground, and started shooting. Luckily, the area had a large pillar near to where they entered that Justin could use as cover next to Lucius. 

Danse shoot like an immovable object in the space between the entrance and the pillar, which also served as excellent protection. Condsworth proceeded over the elevated back end of the room, where another unit had nothing but a baton. It tried to fight him, and it clearly was a bit of a nuisance to fight with the electricity messing with the poor Mister Handy, but it didn’t anticipate, Justin coming in to shoot it in the dominant arm. That gave Codsworth just enough time to grab it and start sawing away, while Justin kept shooting. 

Another unit fell to Danse’s rifle when he his it enough times in the torso. Justin felt Lucius rush by to deal with a unit that was now hiding behind the pillar on the other side of the room. It had a damaged leg, and was actively avoiding Danse’s fire. That was, until it spotted Lucius coming for it. It started backing away, and before Lucius could fire, a laser beam his it right in the head. Lucius lowered their weapon and gave Danse a slow nod. 

Danse’s keen eyes scanned the surfaces in the room for the transmitter while he took a few steps farther in. “Damn it,” he hissed. “I don’t see the device anywhere. Fan out and check the synth remains.” 

Justin quickly ducked down by the body of the synth her and Codsworth had dismembered together. She didn’t know what was normal on a synth, r even quite what the transmitter would look like. All she had to go on was a description she didn’t quite recall anymore.   
“I’m afraid it’s not on this one, mum,” Codsworth noted. “Perhaps the one back at the-”

“Found it.” 

Justin peered over the gate around this part of the room, and down at Lucius, who was crouched by the last synth that fell. Their hands were inside the torso of the unit and seemed to be finicking with something inside it. Danse waited while they worked, pausing his own search to look. After a bit, they pulled something out and got back up.

“Good work, sir,” Codsworth exclaimed. 

Danse walked over to check if Lucius really had what they needed. Upon confirmation, Danse gave a quick nod. “Alright. Let’s get out of here.” He walked towards the elevator, and pushed the button. “We can take the service elevator to the surface.” 

He seemed oddly familiar with the place, but Justin assumed they had shouted the area or found maps of it somewhere before getting here. She waited for Lucius to get into the elevator and for the doors to close, before walking to the doors. There were some medical supplies on the wall. They’d probably need it, and since she hadn’t taken anything other than holotapes this whole time, a few stimpaks and clean water weren’t going to be too big a loss for the Brotherhood of Steel. Afterwards, she pushed the button, and waited again. 

It wasn’t a long trip to the surface, thank god. Codsworth’s exhaust could be a little difficult to handle in such an enclosed space. She couldn’t imagine swimming in that for more than a few minutes.

Danse had already made his way outside, and left Lucius waiting by the exit for Justin and Codsworth. Justin greeted them with a wide stare, not having expected them. The three went outside together, and Danse turned around to greet them. 

“Well, that could have gone smoother, but mission accomplished,” he stated.

Justin offered him a small smile, but Lucius briefly pouted, and replied, “You didn’t like getting cooked as a tactic, I see.” 

“I didn't.” Danse’s tone was harsher than before, with good reason as far as Justin was aware. “That sweep was sloppy. We got caught unprepared more than once, which is unacceptable.” All valid criticism, considering everything that had happened, and the fact that his armor was still baring the scars of Lucius’ quick thinking. Surprisingly, though, his tone softened some with the rest of his evaluation. “However, your extra guns did give us the edge we needed. I'm not certain I could have accomplished the mission alone.”

“Well, at any rate, the rocket wasn't my best split second decision,” Lucius admitted with a small bow of the head. “My apologies.” Holding the transmitter in one hand, Lucius stuck out their arm to hand it over. Danse stuck out his hand, and Lucius carefully placed the device down on his palm. 

“Apologies accepted,” Danse stated, putting the transmitter away. “It was a refreshing change to work with a civilian who seems to have some actual experience, as well well as two who follow orders, even with our disagreements.” There was no kind of hostile or annoyed tone in his voice, which relieved Justin some. “That being said, I believe we have two important matters to discuss.”

Danse took his gun back in hand, and continued, “First and foremost, I'd like to compensate you for your assistance during this operation,” He offered his gun to Lucius, giving it a little pat on the top as he did so. “I think you'll find this weapon useful. It's my own, personal, modification on the standard Brotherhood laser rifle. May it serve you well in battle.”

That actually seemed to have caught Lucius off guard, who was a little wide-eyed and blinking from it. The weapon wasn’t damaged in any way other than aesthetics, and it was a pretty good gun, even after it had been under immense heat, so Justin understood their surprise. Justin pressed her lips together, trying to bite back the subtle amusement she felt at the situation. 

“Are you…” Lucius uttered, before taking the gun, albeit still a little hesitantly. Once it was n their hands, they bowed their head again, while handing the gun over to Justin. “Thank you.” 

Now it was Justin’s turn to be shocked. Large eyes went over the weapon as it made it into her possession. She didn’t know if she was ready for such a weapon, but if Lucius thought she needed it, who was she to stop this? An idiot. That’s who. If this gun was as good as she thought it was, it was going to save her a lot of trouble up here.

“You’re welcome, civilian.” Even after nearly dying, Danse was civil. This must have been something normal to him. Like sugar bombs used to be to middle class folks. “Now, as far as the second matter goes, I wanted to make you a proposal. We had a lot thrown at us, back there. Our op could have ended in disaster, but you kept your cool, and handled it like a soldier.”

Justin furrowed her brows. Was this headed where she thought it was? An offer of recruitment? After Lucius had so vehemently gone against Danse’s opinions? He was looking at them, it seemed, so he wasn’t about to propose anything to her right now. She looked aside and could see that Lucius was questioning this whole thing just as hard as she was. They were just trying to keep more of a professional posture with it. 

“There’s no doubt in my mind that you’ve got what it takes. The way I’ve see it, you’ve got a choice,” Danse said with full confidence. “You could spend the rest of your life wandering from place to place, trading an extra hand for a meager reward, or you could join the Brotherhood of Steel, and make your mark on the world. So, what do you say?” 

It wasn’t completely out of the blue, and yet Justin was stuck blinking and raising her brows in disbelief. Curious eyes darted aside to catch Lucius’ response, which was far less pronounced. Of course it was. They seemed good at keeping a straight face.

“I’m afraid, I can’t accept,” Lucius quickly replied. There was little reason for their answer to have been anything different. Justin didn’t know them long, but they didn’t seem greedy enough to just go for the money, and still not open enough to start liking these people. ”My ideals are not fit for your order. Besides…” They made a gesture to Justin. “I have a delivery to make.”

Danse’s head followed until his face was towards Justin. “I see.” There wasn’t much he could say to argue against that. It didn’t seem like he was about to push the matter into a debate either. “If you ever want to help more, you’re always welcome to return to the Police station. For an untrained civilian your age, you did well enough.” Justin couldn’t help but be the tiniest bit flattered. It wasn’t something to great, but at least she had more confidence in her odds of survival now that someone as skilled as this gave her a compliment. Well, it was kind of a compliment. Danse turned his face back to Lucius, as added, “And, if you ever change your opinions on synths, the Brotherhood could use someone with your skills.”

“Kind offer, but unlikely.” Lucius gives another, slower and deeper, bow of the head. “I wish you luck on your way back to the station.” 

“Thank you, civilian.” 

Once the group had parted ways with Danse, Lucius’ face went cold again, and they increased their walking speed to a brisk pace. It took a moment for them to visibly relax, at which point they softened up again, lowering their shoulders, and returning to a pace that Justin didn’t need to struggle to keep up with.

Justin’s hair bobbed with her steps as she tried to close the distance created between her and Lucius during their little bout of what was probably annoyance. 

“What’s your issue with those people?” Justin sighed after having caught up.

There was a silence in which Lucius seemed to be acting like she hadn’t asked anything, despite having pressed their lips together the moment the question was out. They huffed after a bit.

“They’re hypocrites that waltz into any territory and take what they want from people, then hoard it all for themselves instead of sharing a single thing that could help another,” Lucius finally answered. “They are so quick to label something as dangerous and needing to be destroyed. The only time they did help others was met with a withdrawal of from the rest of the faction.” Lucius shook their head. “That was when a man called Elder Lyons was in charge, and he died not long after I heard of him, so I suppose they went back to the western ways.” With a quick hand gesture, they added, “Even so, their bigotry was still alive and well, from what some ghouls have told me.” 

Justin’s mouth had opened some listening to their rant, and she looked concerned. This is why Lucius was so reluctant to help. They didn’t even bother to tell her when it really mattered. She didn’t know if she should be upset with herself or upset with them. Although, she realizes that she would not have changed her choice of helping them from this information alone. Only one person was hardly a good source for information that could condemn someone. Still, though, there was some doubt about if she had made the right choice, now. “So, I was wrong to help them?”

“Now, I wouldn't say that,” Lucius quickly tried to argue, their eyes wide and their brows furrowed. ”You wanted to help someone in need, and there’s nothing wrong with that. If they mess up the chance you have them, you shouldn't blame yourself.” 

That was a nice attempt at reassuring her, but now she also was more concerned about what way they would mess up the chance she gave them. Were they that bad? Did she waste time on her search for Shaun for a group of people she’d come to hate. Oh god… Now was not the time to think of it. Lucius seemed to agree, because shortly after she started over thinking her choice, they told her, “Anyway, we should keep an eye out for raiders in these coming parts.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not sorry for the bad pun in the description. I wasn't lying. Things did get heated.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang makes it to Diamond City.

“So… what are synths, actually?” Justin finally asks, after having said nothing since asking them about the Brotherhood of Steel. They had chosen to take a break in an alley after having killed some raiders. Justin was wondering about a lot right now, aside from when she’d become numb to the violence up here. She kept a close watch on the sides of the area, but also occasionally to Lucius, who held a cigarette between their lips.

Lucius’ eyes glanced up from the supplies they were checking, and their brows lowered. Justin questioned if it had been a bad idea to ask after all, but then Lucius took the cigarette out of their mouth, blowing the vapor out before explaining, “Synths are synthetic beings that emulate the appearance of organic beings.” There was a pause, and Lucius pressed their lips together while thinking on how to continue or if Justin even understood what they’d said. “They are made to look like organic beings,” they corrected. It was a simpler way to put it. “There are several types, based on how close to human they appear. Most hostile ones are the older varieties, referred to as gen 1 and gen 2. They are obviously robotic. The only difference is the skin.” Their eyes flitted to the mostly spent cigarette in their hand, after which they just threw it down by their foot and stomped it out. “Gen 3 are those that are indistinguishable from humans or other organic beings to the untrained eye, even when shot. They are more prone to self determination than the older models.” 

“Self determination?” Justin mumbled to herself. She'd heard that talk before when reading about some opinions on Mister Handy units and the like. Codsworth did seem to have a human personality, but it was still programmed. He could hover around the perimeter all he concluded to be needed, but whether he actually had individuality was still to be seen.

“The process by which a person controls their own life,” Lucius clarified. “Gen three units are more prone to independent thought.”

So, not like a Mister Handy? Presence of apparent personality alone was not evidence of independence. Codsworth still acted according to his programming, after two hundred years. Although, killing people was rather new. She was certain that wasn't in his core programming. Well, unless he was meant to deal with burglars. 

“Why are they made that way?”

“Hm.” Lucius furrowed their brows and pulled a crooked frown. “Scientific curiosity? Need to infiltrate the surface world’s society? Expensive toys? I wouldn't know.”

Justin blinked a few times and leaned closer to Lucius. One of those three possibilities had caught her attention more than the others. “Wait, they infiltrate?” 

“Yes. That's why some are… extra human. Gen 3 units are often set aside to copy existing individuals.” With a small shrug, they added, “No one knows what comes of the ones they replace, but there are several theories.” 

Anyone could be a synth, then. Justin’s eyes went wide and she looked Lucius over. What if she was talking to one, right now? Then again, would they really have just given her this information if they were one of these units? It would only have served to make her suspicious of everyone. Although, giving her the information instead of waiting on another to do so, would make them seem more trustworthy. There was no way of knowing if Lucius was working for the Institute until she got her brother. How was she going to find Shaun if the Institute had eyes and ears hidden all over the wasteland? Heck, they could easily replace him with a synth to throw her off.

Lucius cast a glance at Justin while pulling out another cigarette. “I think I have alarmed you enough, for now,” they stated.

Codsworth had overheard the conversation while gliding about. Since the madam was already asking questions… “Sir, I actually have a question, as well, if I may.” 

“Oh?” Lucius blinked and gave Codsworth a curious look. “You may.”

“The pulse mines back in the ArcJet. I noticed an uncharacteristic twitch when they exploded,” Codsworth explained, hovering a little closer to Lucius and gesturing at their arm with his pincer. “Are you quite alright?” 

With a small pout, Lucius glanced at their arm, moving their hand a little. “Oh, that. I actually don't know. Although, I've had some work done, so that might be it.” 

“It doesn't have any lasting effects, does it?” Codsworth further inquired.

“No. No. I'm healthy,” Lucius assured, raising their hand a little, and evidently rethinking that second cigarette, as it disappeared back into the pack it came from. “Well, as healthy as a wastelander can be.” 

Lucius picked up their bag and slung it over their shoulder while getting up from their seat. “At any rate, we should get moving. Diamond city isn't far, now.” 

They hadn't lied when they said that. Just a few blocks farther, they already ran into people in what seemed like matching outfits with a diamond painted on each one. It was a rather clear logo, even if it was blurry to Justin at this distance. They were shooting at something, so Justin hugged the wall as they approached. Two green things were sprawled on the ground, and there was shouting from above. 

“Super mutants,” Lucius noted. One look was enough to let Justin and Codsworth know that Lucius wanted them to stay put. Not like Justin was going to say anything against that. The name 'super mutant’ sounded intimidating enough without the roaring in the background.

Lucius tried to peek around the corner to check how many enemies they were about to face, but this was cut short with the sound of gunfire, and they quickly pulled back behind cover. Justin needed just a split second to understand it, because there was a bullet impact on the ground ahead not long after. 

“We may have to go around,” Lucius noted with their back still planted firmly against the wall. 

“What... They couldn't have seen you so quickly,” Justin argued with one brow furrowed. 

Lucius shook their head. “I don't think they did, but...” Their eyes turned towards the empty building just up ahead. Justin leaned away from the wall to see it. It seemed to have ample protection from raining gunfire, and she could take a gander at what Lucius was considering. 

“You're going to run for that, aren't you?” Codsworth whined.

“Yep,” Justin confirmed in a soft sigh, causing Lucius to pull a deep frown and snap their eyes in her direction again.

“What? No,” Lucius protested. “No. You two stay right-”

Justin quickly cut them off. “Where's our cover if they come for us here?” 

It was a good point if she did think so herself. Lucius was silenced by it, and blinked a few times, before just shutting their eyes while taking a deep breath. They sighed, pressing a hand to their face and rubbing their temples. “Right.”

Justin understood that they didn't want her running next to a gunfight without any other backup. She understood that Lucius was worried they'd target the three of them the moment they moved in. She understood they cared about her safety, but it was the most direct way to the city, if the arrows painted on the walls were anything to go by, and there could be all manner of dangers lurking around that she couldn't handle. If she stood here, with only Codsworth as protection, two raiders was all that would be needed to kill her. 

“Look, I know you want to protect me, and I appreciate it,” Justin stated, with her hands stretched out to Lucius. She then gestured up ahead at the people who were still fighting. One of them was pressing a hand to his hip whenever he took cover, his clothing stained red with his own blood. “But those people are in trouble, and I rather hide in that building while you play the hero, than let them die and probably run into more raiders going around.” With a slow tilt of the head, Justin added, “Besides, I did tell you my rule on running into people who need help.”

Lucius rested their hand back on their gun and kept their eyes to the ground while biting the inside of their lip. They sneaked another quick glance at the people ahead, who had nothing but a tree to hide behind, and probably would be killed on an attempted retreat without assistance. It wasn't as though Justin would die from this, and it was likely less dangerous than what they'd encountered in the ArcJet facility. Eventually, Lucius pushed themself off the wall, and grumbled, “Let's go.”

A quick glance was cast around the corner again, before they headed for the building as fast and as quietly as they could. Justin followed Lucius closely as they ran for the cover of the abandoned diner, with Codsworth at her back. A soft sigh of relief left Justin as the group stopped and hid. This place was trashed, but the roof made it safer cover than anything else nearby. 

While Lucius pulled their weapons, Justin took a quick peek outside. Upon checking, she saw that there were two large humans of sorts on the top of the building they were just next to. Green and very large humans. She blinked trying to get a better look at them. Even with her glasses it felt like her eyes were slightly out of focus. While she stared, a green blast made its way into her periphery and towards one of the mutants in her direct line of sight. While her shoulders jumped from the sound, she already knew from who it was and didn't bother to check. She just lowered her shoulders and squinted after the blast hit the mutant, causing the creature to scream and collapse. He was still alive. She could see him writhing through the large cracks in the wooden panels he used as cover. Somehow, it was different seeing a mutant get hurt than a regular person. Probably because they were visibly and audibly less human, or because they were so far away.

The other mutant yelled. Justin could make out words, and she felt bad, but the two had attacked city guards. What were they expecting? Lucius didn't fire for a while as the mutant they'd hit still tried to get up. As soon as Justin saw what looked like a head over the wooden panels, another green blast hit it. This time, it didn't scream. It? Justin frowned. She really didn't know how to feel about these. A long and apparently negative look was cast at Codsworth, who said, “I'm sure this little tangle will be done shortly, mum.”

He wasn't wrong. The last mutant yelled loudly, cursing out the guards and Lucius. Justin had stopped looking at all, but those things were vocal enough for her to know the fight was over once the enraged screaming stopped. 

Not long after it stopped, Lucius put their gun away, picked up their things, and tapped Justin on the shoulder to let her know it was time to go. They walked over to the guards, and knelt down by the injured one, who had decided to sit down.

“Thank you,” the guard said, though strained from the pain. The other stood close and tapped their gun, eyes going from their colleague, to Cosworth, and then to Justin. They hopefully weren't about to chastise the group for interfering in guardsman work.

“A hound got you?” Lucius asked while examining the wound.  
The guard nodded. “Not as bad as it coulda been, though.” 

The crooked frown on Lucius’ face didn’t bode well. “Definitely, and you'll live, but you will likely need stitches, “They replied.“ For now, we need to clean it up and stop the bleeding so we can get you back to the city.” 

Lucius only had so much on them to use for this man’s aid. With some surprisingly clean looking cloth, they wiped around the wound so they could see the damage better. This only made them frown even deeper. They handed the cloth to the guard, and said, “Now, you keep this pressed right here.” They pointed at the largest gash in his skin. “We will help you back to the city. Just hold on.”

The guard struggled to get up even with Lucius’ help. Seeing how hard it was for him, Justin tried to offer support on the other side, but both her and Lucius’ heights were not the best for this man, and his colleague quickly took over for her. 

Up ahead, they could hear the voice of what sounded like a woman. 

Justin trotted in front of the group, and saw a lady in a red coat arguing with… something. Someone? Only when she got closer did she know it was, in fact, someone through a speaker.


End file.
